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All four have pleaded not guilty in Ontario Superior Court to second-degree murder in Phillip’s Jan. 2, 2010 beating death in the Toronto (Don) Jail.

Said Mohamed (Mo), 25, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter.

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Phillip had once had the prestigious job of “corridor man” on the range, which required him to perform chores but conferred certain perqs, court has heard. But he was transferred out of the range several months before his death, only returning Jan. 1. He immediately tried to reassert his authority, the prosecution has said.

The witness who testified Wednesday admitted to having a three-page criminal record but said he decided to come forward, despite the risk to his life from being labeled a jailhouse snitch or rat, because he has changed for the better.

God, he said, has told him to tell the truth.

The witness said that on Jan. 2, 2010, he suddenly saw four inmates grab Phillip: Fearon had him in a chokehold, Nur and Mohamed each had an arm, while Grant held a leg.

Nur punched Phillip in the face, saying, “You thought you could come back to the range and run it like it used to be?” the witness told prosecutor Karen Erlick.

“Then they dropped Kevon Phillip. His head hit the concrete pretty hard,” the witness said. “They kind of snickered at that.”

They dragged the unconscious man into Cell 18, at the back of the range near the showers and away from the guards, he said. The five defendants, and another inmate nicknamed Caesar, entered the cell, he added.

The witness said he could not see inside, but heard shuffling and stomping for five minutes.

“I heard Kevon Philip cry out, ‘This is how you guys are going to do it? This is how you guys are going to do me?’ And he started screaming for help,” the witness testified.

The witness walked closer to the cell, where he could partially look inside, he said. He saw Nur making a stomping motion toward the floor and Fearon’s upper body moving, he said. He said he was in fear.

Then a man from the witness’s Bible study group entered the cell to try to stop the beating. “I heard the words, like ‘Get the f--- out of here or you’re next,’” the man testified. The intervener left, he said.

Then four inmates dragged Phillip, who was not moving, into the shower for several minutes, he said. They then dragged him back to Cell 18 and placed him on the lower bunk, throwing a sheet over him.

Soon, a jail guard walked close to Cell 18 to tell Phillip he had a visitor and ask if he wanted to see him. When Phillip, hidden underneath the sheet, made no response, the guard said, “I’ll take it as a no,” and walked off, the witness testified.

Some inmates returned from Bible study and were shocked at what happened, he said. One cried out: “How could you let this happen?” the witness recalled.

That inmate and another dragged the bunk mattress with Phillip on it to the front of the range, near the guards, and someone yelled, “medical alert.”

A female jail guard replied, “Yeah right,” and a male guard said, “Yeah, I’ll be right there,” but stayed put, disbelieving the alarm, the witness testified.

“Then somebody yelled, ‘You better get the f--- out here. Somebody needs some help.’ And they came right there,” he said.

Before long the range was swarming with guards and “white shirts,” (supervisors), and paramedics, the witness said. They performed CPR to no avail.

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